A Great Experience at Great Dixter

By Philip Orrell

One of our students is celebrating after being selected to spend a hard-working summer looking after a piece of horticultural history.

Pippa Jepsen is the recipient of this year’s Anne Wright Scholarship, which allows one student a year to undertake a six-week summer placement at Great Dixter, the Grade I listed house and gardens in Northiam, East Sussex. The scholarship, named in honour of a great plantswoman and former editor of Country Life, is open to all Hadlow College higher education students studying the BA (Hons) or HND in Garden Design. Successful applicants go through to a shortlist, from which one is selected following an interview process with head gardener Fergus Garrett and his team. The chosen scholar works with Fergus maintaining the world-renowned arts and crafts-style garden, receiving full on-site accommodation and board.

Pippa said: “I’m grateful for this opportunity and am really looking forward to expanding my horticultural and garden design knowledge through the scholarship.”

Any students interested in finding out more or applying for the Anne Wright Scholarship can contact Alan Harvey, Head of Faculty for Horticulture at alan.harvey@hadlow.ac.uk

Hadlow College’s Garden Design BA and HND programmes hold ‘Society of Garden Designers Educator Status’ with the BA also boasting Landscape Institute accreditation. Both programmes have a strong design, innovation & creativity focus compared to more traditional courses offered elsewhere - and students work in groups in year 2 of both programmes to plan and present projects to real clients.